ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To formulate a comprehensive treatment program for rheumatoid arthritis arthralgia by clinical observing the efficacy of Xiaoyan Zhitong Paste (XZP).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Adopted was stratified, block randomized, double-blinded, placebo parallel controlled method. Subjects were assigned to the treatment group and the placebo group. Those in the treatment group were treated by external application of XZP, one to two pastes each time, covering the painful area, exchange once per 24 h, with one-day interval during a 7-day consecutive medication, two 7-days of treatment consisting of one therapeutic course. XZP placebos were applied for those in the placebo group in the same medication way. Joint pain and VAS were taken as main indices for observing the clinical efficacy of XZP.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The improvement of the analgesic effect and the Chinese medical syndrome efficacy of XZP were superior to that of the placebo.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>XZP showed obvious effect in treating rheumatoid arthritis arthralgia with no obvious adverse reaction.</p>